BM Solutions News

No nine-to-five for today's brokers

07 February 2008

Brokers are increasingly working longer and more irregular hours to meet the needs of their clients according to latest research from BM Solutions.

Broker profiling research has demonstrated that well over half of brokers regularly work in the evening, and a quarter frequently work at the weekend. One in twenty brokers claim that they now work every single weekend.

Whilst the average broker works for nine hours a day, this increases to 11 hours for those that have been in the industry for a number of years.

Brokers listed a number of reasons why they work beyond traditional office hours:


• 89 per cent work evenings and weekends to meet client demand


• A quarter say that the extra time is required to keep on top of administration


• 21 per cent work outside 9-5 to enjoy a flexible working pattern

These variable working practices mean that more and more brokers are working from home. 18 per cent of brokers always work from home, and this rises to a third of those that are self-employed. Just 23 per cent of brokers don't have the option of homeworking, whilst 51 per cent split their time between their place of work and home office.

Commenting on the findings, Phil Rickards, head of sales said, "To provide a quality service, brokers need to be able to deal with clients at a time that's convenient for them and as lenders, we should ensure that brokers get support as and when they need it."

He continued, "We've seen that business is increasingly being submitted beyond the hours of 9 to 5 and even on Christmas Day some brokers spoke to Red, our online BDM. With BM, brokers can submit business 24/7 via the One Minute Mortgage, and our broker help desk is open on a Saturday morning, which is an important part of providing outstanding service."

BM Solutions is the UK's number one specialist lender, providing market leading products in the Buy to Let, Self-cert, Sub-prime and First Time Buyer sectors. Five star service is supported by forward thinking technology: recent process enhancements include emailed confirmation of offers to the broker, Buy to Let multiple applications copy and instant offers, all delivered through the comprehensive One Minute Mortgage system. Visit bmsolutions.co.uk for full information of online service features.

For further information contact:

Emma Partridge
emmapartridge@hbosplc.com
Press Officer

Clare Mortimer
claremortimer@hbosplc.com
Senior Press Officer